Bankhead Ghost Town
Located along the Minnewanka Loop, this abandoned coal mining town from the early 1900s features interpretive signs and scattered ruins. It gives visitors a glimpse into Banff’s industrial past-far from the usual alpine scenery.Bankhead Ghost Town, nestled at the base of Cascade Mountain just south of Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, offers a haunting glimpse into early 20th-century mining life. Established in 1903 by the Pacific Coal Company (a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway), it quickly flourished as a full-fledged company town, boasting modern amenities for the era - running water, electricity, streetlights, a school, hotel, theatre, and even a church. By its peak, about 1,000 residents worked underground in a complex network of nearly 320 km of tunnels, extracting high-grade anthracite to power CPR steam locomotives and Banff's iconic Alpine Hotel.
Today, visitors enter via a short paved trail that descends 70 steps into Lower Bankhead, where an easy 1 km interpretive loop winds through the remains. Along the way, you'll encounter evocative ruins: the solitary lamp house where miners collected and returned numbered lamps for safety, foundations of the powerhouse and boiler house, the briquette and tipple buildings once used to process and sort coal, and the eerie shell of the town’s chapel. A century-old compressed-air “dinky” locomotive - used to navigate flammable gas-filled tunnels - still rests on original tracks, creating a powerful sensory link to the past.
Scattered interpretive signs narrate the town’s rapid rise and downfall: labor disputes, unprofitable brittle coal, and a final strike in 1922 led to its abrupt closure, and by the mid‑1920s most structures were dismantled or relocated to nearby Banff and Canmore. Now, the site is a poignant, windswept archaeological park, framed by soaring alpine peaks, whispering pines, and sweeping mountain views. It provides both an accessible hike - perfect for families and history buffs - and a raw portrait of industrial ambition, community life, and the fleeting nature of resource‑driven settlements.
Bankhead Ghost Town is one of Banff National Park’s most evocative and accessible historical sites, telling the story of a once-thriving coal mining town that sprang to life in 1903 and disappeared almost as quickly by 1922. Located just off Lake Minnewanka Scenic Drive, Bankhead was more than just a mining operation - it was a planned community built around the needs of the Pacific Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway. At its height, Bankhead housed hundreds of miners and their families, many of whom were immigrants from Britain, Eastern Europe, and China. The town featured amenities far ahead of their time, including electricity, running water, a hotel, a schoolhouse, and even a tennis court, making it one of the most modern settlements in Alberta during its short lifespan.
Bankhead Ghost Town
The mines in Bankhead produced hard anthracite coal, highly sought after for its clean, hot burn - perfect for railway engines and heating large facilities. But the coal seams, though valuable, were brittle and difficult to mine profitably. Coupled with the growing labor unrest, dangerous working conditions, and the rising cost of extraction, the mine became a financial burden. After a bitter strike in 1922, the CPR abruptly shut down operations. Many of the wooden buildings were dismantled and moved to nearby Banff and Canmore, while others were left behind, slowly overtaken by nature.Today, visitors to Bankhead Ghost Town follow an interpretive trail loop through the remnants of Lower Bankhead, where the industrial heart of the town once stood. Along the trail, concrete foundations mark the locations of critical infrastructure: the boiler house, wash house, briquetting plant, and powerhouse. Rusted metal parts, old railbeds, and a restored mine locomotive offer physical ties to the past. One of the most haunting sights is the crumbling remains of St. George's Anglican Church - once the spiritual center of the community - now a roofless stone skeleton filled with silence and forest light.
Interpretive signs placed along the trail tell stories not only of the industrial operations but of the people who lived here - miners who worked long shifts underground, women who managed households in the mountain shadows, and children who went to school and played in the fields, unaware of the town's impending demise. Wildlife now roams freely through the area, and what was once a place of clanking machinery and coal dust has returned to peaceful stillness. Surrounded by forest and mountain views, Bankhead Ghost Town offers more than just historical interest - it provides a compelling sense of atmosphere, of lives lived and left behind, and of how quickly even the most promising towns can fade into memory.
Tours and Attractions in Alberta
Best Tours in Banff National Park »Best Tours in Jasper National Park »
Best Tours in Lake Louise »
Hikes in Banff National Park »
Hikes in Jasper National Park »
Best Hikes in Lake Louise »
Bow Falls »
Lake Louise »
Moraine Lake »
Peyto Lake »
Bridal Veil Falls »
Cascade Ponds & Bow Valley Parkway »
Lake Minnewanka »
Sulphur Mountain & Banff Gondola »
Tunnel Mountain »
Banff Park Museum »
Banff Upper Hot Springs »
Cave & Basin National Historic Site »
Johnston Canyon »
Mt. Norquay »
Sunshine Village »
Icefields Parkway »
Bow Valley Parkway »
Bankhead Ghost Town »
Cascade Ponds »
Cave and Basin Marsh Loop »
Fenland Trail »
Healy Pass »
Hoodoos Trail »
Johnston Lake »
Silverton Falls »
Upper Stoney Lookout »
Vermilion Lakes Drive »
Lake Minnewanka Viewpoints »
Norquay Green Spot Viewpoint »
Sulphur Mountain Summit Boardwalk »
Tunnel Mountain Summit »
Vermilion Lakes Scenic Drive »
Bow Falls Viewpoint »
Cascade Gardens Mountain Viewpoint »
Hoodoos Viewpoint »
Johnston Canyon Upper Falls »
Mount Edith Pass »
Surprise Corner Viewpoint »
Upper Stoney Lookout »
Athabasca Falls & Sunwapta Falls »
Athabasca Glacier & Jasper Columbia Icefield »
Athabasca Falls »
Dark Sky Preserve & Northern Lights »
Jasper SkyTram Up Whistlers Mountain »
Maligne Canyon »
Maligne Lake & Spirit Island »
Medicine Lake »
Miette Hot Springs »
Mount Edith Cavell & Cavell Meadows »
Pyramid Lake »
Skyline Trail »
Whitewater Rafting on the Athabasca River »
Hike Jasper | Tour Canadian Rockies | Jasper Columbia Icefield | Maligne Lake Boat Cruise | Jasper Wildlife | Book Banff National Park | Book Jasper National Park | Banff Gondola | Lake Minnewanka Boat Cruise | Athabasca River Rafting | Jasper Wildlife Tours| Rocky Mountain Train Tickets | Maligne Ice Walk | Shopping Jasper | Columbia Icefields Glacier Skywalk | Jasper SkyTram | Jasper Maligne Lake Cruise | Johnston Canyon | Golden Skybridge | Banff Boat Cruise | Tour Moraine Lake